2004 VPRO Joris Ivens Award Winners for STAND VAN DE MAAN

Saturday, November 25----Members of the juries for the major competitions at the International Documentary Filmfestival Amsterdam (IDFA) have begun their process of screening films in contention and evaluating their worthiness for a series of top awards. Jurors in four separate competition categories will be among the busiest people as the Festival enters its first big weekend of screenings and events.

In the Joris Ivens Competition, 18 feature-length documentaries from all over the world will compete for the VPRO Joris Ivens Award, which includes a cash prize of €12,500/US $15,000. The jury includes: Igor Blazevic (One World Film Festival Prague), Niek Koppen (filmmaker and producer), Claire Aguilar (ITVS – Independent Television Service, Inc.), Jasmine Dellal (filmmaker), and Gerald Peary (film critic).

In the Silver Wolf Competition, 16 international documentaries of 30 to 60 minutes in length will vie for the Silver Wolf Award, which includes a cash prize of €10,000/US $12,500, made available by the Dutch broadcaster NPS. Thirteen documentaries shorter than 30 minutes will compete for the Silver Cub, which includes a prize of €5,000/US $6,500. The Silver Wolf Jury consists of Arunas Matelis (winner of the Silver Wolf in 2005, for BEFORE FLYING BACK TO THE EARTH), Heather Croall (director of the Sheffield Docfest), Mercedes Moncada Rodríguez (filmmaker), Tomohide Terai (Senior Producer of Culture and Welfare Programmes, Japan Broadcasting Corporation), and Silvia Hallensleben (film critic).

For the First Appearance competition section, 18 debut films from 16 countries will contend for the First Appearance Award. This jury includes Astrid Bussink (filmmaker and winner of the First Appearance in 2005, for THE ANGELMAKERS), Doug Block (filmmaker), Dimitri Eipides (programme director of the Reykjavik Film Festival), Cecilia Lidin (film consultant at the European Documentary Network), and Andrei Plakhov (film critic). The best newcomer will receive a cash prize of €2,500/US $3500.

In addition to these competition categories, IDFA will also present the Movies That Matter Award, formerly known as the Amnesty International-Doen Award. For this competition, an international jury will evaluate 10 films from the IDFA program, and the Movies That Matter Foundation will award €2,500/US $3200 to the director of the winning film. Determining the award will be Hedy d’Ancona (former Dutch politician), Gillian Caldwell (director of the human rights organisation Witness), and Sabiha Sumar (filmmaker). Hats off to all the hard-working jurors!!!

Sandy Mandelberger
Online Festival Dailies Editor